Union officials are calling on the National Archives and Records Administration to extend temporary telework into next week, as employees struggling to navigate road closures and construction in connection with an IndyCar race in downtown Washington.

Archives workers granted telework ahead of D.C. IndyCar race

Sponsor Content

GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule Program: A Modern Acquisition Solution for Government Buyers

Discover how GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule can accelerate procurement, expand contractor access, and help agencies maximize mission value.

Tech

Social Security expands electronic health record sharing to speed up disability claims adjudication

A health data sharing superhighway “allows SSA to access complete, structured medical records within seconds or minutes for claimants, helping to significantly reduce disability claim processing times,” an agency official told Nextgov/FCW.

Oversight

Attorney general violated Hatch Act ethics rules, nonprofit says

Good government groups have filed Hatch Act complaints against several Trump administration officials.

Management

USDA hasn’t looked at staff attrition ahead of relocations, but downplays its impact  

Internal data shows the department is preparing for significant churn as it presses forward with office moves, raising questions about whether new staff can fill the gap left by seasoned experts.

Sponsor Content

From Experimentation to Execution: The State of Agentic AI in the Federal Government

Explore how federal agencies are moving from AI experimentation to deployment and the strategies needed to overcome adoption barriers.

Oversight

Getting a simple FOIA request from OPM shouldn’t be this hard

COMMENTARY | A frequent FOIA requester found himself navigating dead inboxes, broken portals and months-long waits after cuts gutted the Office of Personnel Management’s public records operation.

Pay & Benefits

Bill expanding paid leave for feds is pared back in Senate

The upper chamber’s version of legislation extending 12 weeks of paid family leave each year to federal workers removes provisions allowing it to be used in connection with helping a family member who has been the victim of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking.

Management

National crisis and support hotline operations remained consistent despite staffing cuts, watchdog found

Some staff operating mental health support hotlines at the departments of Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs were subject to reductions in force last year and have not yet been replaced.

VOICES
Management

EPA’s cancer-risk data has gone dark

The agency is still publishing air pollution data, but a key part of its analysis is missing from the latest release.

TSP TICKER
FUND
G
F
C
S
I
AUG 18 CLOSE
$20.1394
$20.8421
$123.9253
$118.6624
$65.5124
DAILY CHANGE
0.0027
0.0184
-0.8572
-1.9772
-0.9028
THIS MONTH (%)
0.24
0.37
2.75
4.10
2.34
FUND
L 2070
L 2060
L 2050
L 2040
L 2030
L INCOME
AUG 18 CLOSE
$14.6614
$24.7411
$46.9677
$75.7571
$63.7041
$31.0541
DAILY CHANGE
-0.1534
-0.2589
-0.4016
-0.5662
-0.3550
-0.0868
THIS MONTH (%)
2.76
2.76
2.34
2.08
1.63
0.97
FUND
AUG 18
CLOSE
DAILY
CHANGE
THIS
MONTH
G
$20.1394
0.0027
0.24
F
$20.8421
0.0184
0.37
C
$123.9253
-0.8572
2.75
S
$118.6624
-1.9772
4.10
I
$65.5124
-0.9028
2.34

L 2070
$14.6614
-0.1534
2.76
L 2060
$24.7411
-0.2589
2.76
L 2050
$46.9677
-0.4016
2.34
L 2040
$75.7571
-0.5662
2.08
L 2030
$63.7041
-0.3550
1.63
L INCOME
$31.0541
-0.0868
0.97
Defense

The Army gave General Dynamics $533M to build an artillery plant that produced nothing

Instead of making shells, the assembly robots kept failing in bizarre ways—and that's just for starters.

Tech

Labor looks to AI to tackle accommodation requests from disabled employees

Employees say they’ve waited months or longer for decisions, as the Labor Department considers using AI to sort requests and flag missing documentation.

Tech

OneGov savings balloon to over $1.6B as agencies weigh future of AI in contracting

The General Services Administration has already agreed to extend some OneGov deals and is working on brokering new ones, according to an official.

Workforce

OPM finalizes expanded hazard pay for federal firefighters

Under regulations set to take effect next month, federal wildland firefighters will be eligible for 25% hazard pay in connection with work on prescribed burns.

Tech

Intel ops are underway at Space Command’s nascent Alabama HQ

Alabama landed SPACECOM after a years-long political fight. Now it’s getting off the ground.

Pay & Benefits

Lawsuit seeks to enforce 2025 SCOTUS decision improving pay for feds called to active duty

In the 15 months since the Supreme Court ruled that federal workers who also serve as military reservists do not need to prove that an active duty deployment is “substantially connected” to a national emergency, OPM has yet to issue new guidance reflecting the new precedent.

Pay & Benefits

Before you take money out of your TSP, weigh these trade-offs

A withdrawal can affect everything from your tax bill and Medicare premiums to how long your savings last and what your heirs receive.

Tech

The feds want private companies to take the fight to cybercriminals

A new program would put vetted companies in a more active role against transnational criminal groups, with DHS and Justice overseeing the operations.

Exclusive Workforce

Statistical agency staffing cuts put federal data under new scrutiny on Capitol Hill

House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott, D-Va., is pressing for a September hearing to examine what staffing losses and leadership vacancies mean for agencies responsible for producing key data.

Oversight

State’s overseas housing rules haven’t kept up with the times, GAO says

The agency is still using standards tied to the D.C. housing market of 1991 to determine how much space employees stationed abroad can have.

Workforce

State Department expands push to reclassify employees as at-will workers

An expanded search for more Schedule Policy/Career conversions is still in its early stages, but a department employee says the effort is “moving relatively fast.”

Tech

Space Command says it needs to ‘shoot, move and communicate’ in orbit

Gen. Stephen Whiting, the outgoing commander of U.S. Space Command, used his final speech at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., to outline the capabilities he says the military needs to keep pace with China.